Environment
Need some good news about the environment? The Optimist Daily is your go-to herald of positive environmental news, highlighting eco-friendly solutions and scientific progress around climate action, circularity, conservation, and more. Learn about everything eco in our Environment section.
Nature is more valuable than you thought. Here are four reasons why
From the cloud forests of Costa Rica to the deserts of Southern Africa, the great outdoors inspires awe and offers us valuable perspective from our day-to-day grind. Nature also provides us with basic services - fresh water, clean air, nutritious food and shelter. But it doesn’t stop there. Read More...
Sweden commits to becoming carbon neutral by 2045 with new law
Sweden has committed to cutting its net carbon emissions to zero by 2045, becoming the first country to significantly upgrade its carbon ambitions since the Paris accord in 2015. The law was drawn up by a cross-party committee and passed with an overwhelming majority in parliament by 254 votes to Read More...
This company is transforming food scraps into a big business
A major food processor in the Bronx has gone from producing 150,000 pounds of waste per week down to none. Baldor food company no longer trucks anything to the dump. Vegetable leftovers are bagged and offered to chefs for use in stocks or sauces. Fruit odds and ends are sold to juiceries, which use Read More...
Probiotics could improve survival rates in honeybees exposed to pesticide
Honeybee populations responsible for pollinating a third of the global food crop could be protected from massive die-offs known as colony collapse disorder by easily administered probiotics, according to Canadian researchers. The scientists examined how the probiotic lactobaccili might Read More...
To curb climate change, we need to protect and expand US forests
Forests have been removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing carbon for more than 300 million years. When we cut down or burn trees and disturb forest soils, we release that stored carbon to the atmosphere. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, one-third of all carbon dioxide Read More...
Sweden passes climate law to become carbon neutral by 2045
Sweden has committed to becoming a net-zero carbon emitter by 2045, under a law passed in parliament on Thursday. Lawmakers voted 254 to 41 in favour of the proposal, which was developed by a committee involving seven out of eight parliamentary parties. Only the far right Swedish Democrats did Read More...
Oslo is becoming the first European city without cars: A textbook
Freeing the center of a major city of cars is not an easy exercise. Almost two years ago the city council of Oslo decided that the Norwegian capital would become car free as the first major city in Europe. After business protests, the council changed its strategy and did the next best thing: it Read More...
The consequences if the world decided to go meat-free
It’s World Meat Free Day – but what would actually happen if the whole world suddenly went vegetarian permanently? Here’s a briefing about the potential pros and cons for the climate, environment, our health, economy and more. If vegetarianism was adopted by everyone by 2050, the Read More...
The largest fishing companies of the world are teaming up to stop overfishing
Overexploitation of the planet’s fish has more than tripled since the 1970s, with 40 percent of popular species like tuna now being caught unsustainably. That’s why the United Nations is hosting its first ever Ocean Conference this week in New York, which will feature member states discussing Read More...
Scientists have found a way to turn rusty stainless steel into batteries
Metal from the trash heap may one day wind up inside your smartphone instead of the other way around thanks to a group of Chinese scientists. The scientists have figured out a way to turn rusted stainless steel mesh, a material often used for filters and screens in facilities such as wastewater Read More...